6 Surprising Social Media Facts from 2013

Managing social media correctly is imperative in today’s business environment and keeping up to date of changes and trends within social media outlets is equally important. The following facts might surprise you and encourage you to reevaluate, if not rework, the management of your social media presence.

Social media is not just for the young. Facebook has seen a 10% increase in users age 65+ since 2012. The Pew Research Center recently released a study of demographic social media trends, including the fact that: “45% of internet users age 65 or older now use Facebook, up from 35% who did so in late 2012.” In addition, Belle Beth Cooper draws attention to the demographic developments on Twitter. The 55-64 age group is the fastest growing on Twitter, and has grown 79% since 2012. Cooper reminds us that this defies the expectation that social media is “just for teenagers.”

Instagram users are as engaged as Facebook users. According to Pew’s survey: “Instagram users visit the site nearly as frequently as Facebook users. More than half of Instagram users (57%) use the app on a daily basis, with 35% doing so several times per day.” Surprisingly, as evidenced in Strong View’s 2014 Marketing Survey, businesses list Instagram as 7th in importance out of 9 possible social media marketing choices.

Many Facebook users are “mobile only.”According to Cooper, a noticeable portion of Facebook’s 1.2 billion users are “mobile only.” When considering the enormous influence Facebook now wields and the proportion of the site’s ad revenue which comes from mobile use (30%), Cooper argues it is worth a company’s time to evaluate the way their ads appear on a mobile device.

LinkedIn is growing at the rate of 2 new members per second. Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn. The site is definitely one to watch and to build a strong presence on. Cooper says: “From groups to blogs to job listings, this platform is a rich source of information and conversation for professionals who want to connect to others in their industry.” With its Influencers program, LinkedIn also allows businesses to connect with industry leaders and learn from those having success in whatever field they are in.

LinkedIn is the only social networking site Pew measured with more 50-64 year old users than ages 18-29. Despite the growth mentioned above for LinkedIn, young professionals and those seeking jobs in that age bracket have less of a presence on LinkedIn than those a generation older. Pew also discussed its other demographic differences: “As a platform geared towards professional networking, its user demographics are unique from the other sites…LinkedIn usage is especially high among people with a college degree or higher, and among those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more.”

¼ of Facebook users have no privacy settings. Another fact listed by Cooper was that “25% of Facebook users don’t bother with privacy settings.” Despite all the questions that many people are asking about online security and privacy in social media, a shocking quarter of Facebook users don’t even concern themselves with it.

Take these facts into consideration when planning your social media strategy. To learn more about the reports made by Pew Research Center and Strong View, visit these sites.